The free breakfast scheme launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin amid much fanfare hit a roadblock in Karur with parents disallowing their children to have breakfast prepared by a Dalit woman.
The latest incident was reported from a panchayat union primary school in Velanchattiyur in Karur district. The parents of half of the students objected to their children consuming breakfast cooked by a Dalit cook-Sumathi.
On hearing the news, Karur district collector Prabhu Shankar visited the school and had breakfast. He then summoned the parents who prevented their children from consuming the food cooked by Sumathi and warned them of strict action, including registering a case under Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities ) Act.
While most of the parents agreed to let their children consume breakfast cooked by her, others continued to resist. They were summoned by the police and issued a strict warning.
Notably, a few days ago, students of a government school in Tirupur refused to touch the breakfast prepared by a Dalit woman. Of the 44 students of the Kalingarayanpalayam panchayat primary school in Tirupur, only 12 consumed
breakfast prepared by Deepa, a Dalit cook.
The parents also requested for the Transfer Certificate from the school and Tiruppur district collector T. Christuraj intervened and warned the parents of dire consequences if they don’t allow their children consume food prepared by a Dalit woman.
Following this parents agreed and the scheme is running positively in Tirupur.